Technique - Buttonhole Band

 

Buttonhole Bands

The buttonhole band is worked with straight needles, back and forth.

The buttonhole band always has less stitches than the number of stitches in the body of the garment so that it is pulled taut. eg for a cowl with 60 stitches you would pick up 50 stitches along the outer edge stitch of the steek for the buttonhole bands.

After picking up the correct number of stitches along the steek edge, work one row of ribbing. In the second row of ribbing, work the buttonholes (below), then in the 3^rd and 4^th rows, continue the ribbing.

Buttonholes:

·        Knit 1, slip 1 PSSO, slip 1 PSSO, slip 1 PSSO. (or as many as needed).

·        Slip last bound off stitch onto L needle and turn work.

·        Cast-on 3 + 1 stitches, wrapping the two yarn colours (if using) between each cast-on stitch to ensure there are no floats across the buttonhole.

·        Turn work, slip the last stitch cast-on onto the L need. Work this and the next stitch together so that the rib remains correct. Ie stitches bound off = stitches cast-on.

Technique - Kitchener Stitch

 

KITCHENER STITCH

Work on 2 needles with WS together
Yarn length = 3 x THE width of the work
Row	Stitch	Type	Leave Stitch
Starter 1	Front	Purl	On
Starter 2	Back	Knit	Off
Repeat 1	Front	Knit	Off
Repeat 2	Front	Purl	On
Repeat 3	Back	Purl	Off
Repeat 4	Back	Knit	On

 

Technique - The Steek

 The Steek is used to create an opening (eg the front opening of a cardigan that is knitted in the round) or for shaping a garment at the armholes or neckline. When the yarn is smooth (ie not a Shetland wool), it is advisable to stitch the edges of the Steek with a sewing machine before cutting

The Steek consists of extra stitches at the beginning and end of each round that will eventually form the seam allowance for the bands.

The Steek stitches are usually either 2, 4, 8, 10 or 12 stitches, half at the BOR and half at the EOR. They are not shown as chart stitches, you need to remember to add them on. They are always knit stitches. When the work is colour work, the first Steek stitch at BOR is in the pattern colour, and then alternated, and the first Steek stitch at the EOR is in the background colour, and then alternated. Ie the Steek stitches are a mirror image of each other with the centre stitches in the same Pattern colour).

Sally's Method

Cutting the Steek 

1.     Weave in any ends that fall outside the Steek to lie within the Steek

2.     From the WS, smooth the ends so that they lie away from the Steek, those on the LHS to the left and those to the RHS to the right. Don’t include the ends from the CO and BO in the smoothing out – they will be dealt with at the end.

3.     Turn to the RS, keeping the ends in place.

4.     Cut through the centre of the Steek, between the 2 centre stitches.

5.     Cut the ends (not the CO or BO ends) to the same length as the Steak seam.

Cutting the Steek

1.     From the wrong side, check that all yarn ends originate within the 8 steek stitches. Weave any yarn ends that are within the body of the cowl across to lie within the steek. NOTE: leave the cast-on yarn ends free to weave in later.

2.     Separate the yarn ends into left and right of the middle of the steek and smooth them so they lie outwards from the middle. Flip the cowl over to the right side.

3.     Cut through the middle of the steek stitches (the bar between the two middle stitches) as accurately as possible

4.     Cut all the yarn ends off to be the same length as the cut steek (ie short) EXCEPT for the cast-on yarn ends and the yarn ends that were used to create the corrugated ribbing along the steek edges.

5.     Thread a needle with wool and bind the cut steek edge. To do this, roll the cut edge under 1 stich and then overcast the edge, quite closely, all the way to the bottom. Turn and do the same the other way, forming crosses with the previous stitching. Do this on both cut steek edges.

6.     Weave in the remaining yarn ends from the cast-on and from the corrugated ribbing.

 

Finishing the Steek Seam

1.     With yarn, roll the cut edge of the Steek under (towards garment body, not the band) and whip stitch in place, covering it down the seam and then back up, forming crosses.

2.     Weave in the cast-on and bind-off ends so that the edges of the garment are smooth.

Fruity Knitting Method

Sewing the Steek Before knitting the Bands

1.  eg a 10 stitch Steek.  Stitch  down the LHS of the far left Steek stitch using a long stitch length to keep the elasticity of the garment
2. Stitch across the (R) leg of the far left stitch and the (L) leg of the next left stitch using a wide zig zag to join two columns of stitches together
3. Do the same on the RHS of the Steek
4. Cut through the middle of the Steek but don't trim back
5. Pick up stitches along the front opening to knit the vertical bands

Knitting the Bands

Form both bands before cutting the Steek. If the bands are knit in rib, there are usually more stitches because rib draws the knitting in whereas stocking stitch is looser and flatter and takes about 15stitches per 10cm (= pick up stitches from every 3 out of 4 rows + a couple of extra stitches at the top and bottom corners of the band so that they lie square). The technique below is courtesy of Kate Davies (The Steek Sandwich).

1. Starting at the top of the Steek, with right side facing, push needle through the work through the middle of the stitch in the second column in from the Steek, wrap it in yarn, and pull through to the right side forming a stitch. Continue all the way down. Note that each stitch forms a little loop on the WS.
2. Knit the band eg 9 rows stocking stitch, ending with a WS row.
3. On the WS, use a smaller needle to pick up the loops that were formed when the band stitches were picked up.
4. Trim back the Steek to within 1 column of the zig zag
5. Wrap the band over the cut seam edge and do a thre needle bind off using the loops that were picked up.
6. Use the tails to sew the band ends closed

Knit Companion Instructions

 

KNIT COMPANION INSTRUCTIONS

Mode	Action	Method
Knit	You are Here	Hold finger on screen to place Marker
Knit	Link to a Video	Click PDF, top -Name it - click x to get back to the Project - Show/Hide at bottom panel - click the top icon of the bottom LHS to view
Knit	1-tap Marker	Advances the highlighter bar and counts rows. Set up a Piece - + - set visible rows. Knit to view. Note: a row repeat is shown above the 1-tap Marker
Knit/Edit	Project Notes	Show/Hide bottom panel - Project Info icon, bottom LHS - type in Notes. Project Info icon toggles to Timer and Ruler.
Knit	Scribble	Choose Pen, top RHS
Knit	Add a Quick Key	A simple key to add a whole Page. Show/Hide bottom panel - select Page with eg Abbr - long-tap Key, bottom LHS. To remove, select Page and long-tap Key
Set up	Add info to a row of instructions	·        Add Row Reminder. Click middle icon (paper clip), bottom RHS - + - choose row - add note eg ‘change colour here’. Knit to view note underneath. ·        Add Audio Reminder. Click middle icon (paper clip) on bottom RHS - + - Name it - eg ‘slip a stitch here’ - record the Note - select the Note, choose Autoplay. Knit to hear it. ·        Add a piece of text from the instructions. Click middle icon (paper clip). bottom RHS - + - select the Page - highlight/adjust area eg the Abbr list - Crop - Back. Knit to view.
Set up	Create a Key Piece	To set up more complex Keys than a Quick Key - can create multiple Keys, part of a Page or parts of different Pages. You can keep the Quick Key. Click + RHS - Key - select the Page - highlight/adjust area +/- rotate/mirror - Crop. The Key Piece appears at the top LHS and has Key highlighted next to it. Knit to view Key, bottom LHS. If more than one Key, toggle Key icon to view. Click Edit to add notes to the Key.
Set up	Create a Text Piece or Chart Piece	To create a new Piece of written instructions that can then have 1-tap Markers, Voice control, Magic Markers, Reminders, etc applied to it. Allows you to create a collage Page with eg picture, written instructions, chart etc. 1.     Click + - Text Piece - select Page - highlight/adjust area eg picture - Align, bottom RHS. Add another Text Piece eg text - Align, top icon - move Text Piece - Align, bottom RHS. Add another Piece, etc. 2.     Click + - Text Piece – select Page – Highlight/Adjust area – Crop – it appears at top LHS with Piece highlighted next to it. To add a 1-tap Marker, enter rows total/start/count by. To adjust row height (row height may vary to accommodate different amounts of text) start at the top and drag blue handles to fit. Repeat for each row. Knit to view. Tap Marker to advance highlighter bar. 3.     Click + - Chart Piece – select Page – highlight/adjust area +/- mirror/rotate – Magic Wand – check parameters. The Chart Piece shows up in the top LHS with Piece highlighted. To edit, click the Chart Piece and re-crop.
Set up	Join a Piece to a Key	Click + - select Piece - highlight/adjust area - Crop. Knit. To add to the Key: Setup - click Key, top LHS - Join, bottom LHS (2 overlapping rectangles) - select Piece - highlight/adjust area - click Align, top middle - move highlighted Piece anywhere in the Key - Save. Knit to view.
Set up	Joined Pieces	When info is scattered over many Pieces, join new parts to an existing Piece. Eg Abbr list and chart could be org as 2 separate Keys or could join as one Key. Click Keys, top LHS – select Piece – Join icon, bottom RHS – select Page – highlight/adjust area – Crop – Align, top middle – drag info to eg beside other info; edit to change the crop – X to exit WITHOUT SAVING, or Save, top RHS. Can join indefinitely. Knit to view Key, bottom LHS.
Set up	Join Charts	To join several charts together. Eg where a design is longer than a printed Page so it has been separated into 2 parts. Click + - Chart Piece - select Page +/- mirror/rotate - highlight/adjust area - Magic Wand - check parameters - Crop - Join, bottom RHS - Add Piece - select Page +/- mirror/rotate - highlight/adjust area - Magic Wand - Crop - Align, top middle - drag info to correct place - Edit, top middle -  back to exit WITHOUT SAVING - Save. Knit to view. Use the Row Reset icon (Edit - 3rd down on RHS) to reset count if knitting in the round and advance the row marker. Note: to join the same Piece many times, use Join Template not Join Charts.
Setup	Create a Chart Template	Useful where you have repeating parts of a pattern. Eg a jumper with a seed stich chart and a separate cable chart. You want to add seed stitches to either side of the cable chart. Create a Chart Piece for the entire cable chart. Click + - Chart Template - select Page where you want the new template to go - highlight/adjust area - Magic Wand - Crop - Pieces, top LHS - select the cable Chart Piece  created - Join, bottom RHS - select the template - drag the Template to align to the Piece - Save. To add a copy of the Template to the Piece - Join, bottom RHS - select Template - drag to be on top of first Template. And so on. Knit to view. Click + - Chart Piece - highlight/adjust area - Magic Wand - Crop -, Align, bottom RHS - Add Template - select ??? - Save. Knit to view.
	Create a Text Template
Set up	Change Order of Pieces	Long-tap on a Piece, top - drag to new spot
Set up	Copy a Piece, Key or Template	Click on Piece, key or Template, top LHS - Copy, RHS
Set up	Flag a Page	Select Page - Flag, RHS
Edit	Highlighters	Click Hand, RHS - adjust sliders. Invert to select all except the desired row. Use different colours for even/odd rows
Edit	Using Linked Counters	Eg to work from 2 stitch charts + waist shaping decreases + buttonholes. Hide/Show bottom panel - Linked Counters, bottom LHS - green button to advance by row, actions show as needed. Icon below green button allows you to go back by row. Reset button for eg 2nd sleeve below that.
Edit	Setting Linked Counters	Click Linked Counters, RHS - + - Action - Name it - Free text in the Action eg decrease 1st at end of each row - row or Manual Start (eg length”) - how many times and How Often = eg every 4 rows. Reset button, bottom LHS near + to adjust an existing Counter. Knit to view. Tap to start the Counter if a Manual Start.
Edit	Smart Counters	Used where the instructions change on each row eg cable or lace work. There are 2 types, Repeat and Shaping markers: 1.     Repeat Markers eg instructions where R1 - 4 are all different, R 5 - 7 are all the same and R 8 - 11 are all different. Use a Chart Piece that has already been set up as a separate Piece. Set up the 1-tap marker with a highlighter bar (Hand icon). Setup - bottom RHS Snake icon - Repeat Limit eg 2 (but could be length rather than no. of repeats). To repeat, - + - Row Repeat - drag blue lines to highlight R5 - 7 - repeat 3 times (for R5, R6, R7). Can do the same for charts. 2.     Shaping markers eg increases/decreases, buttonholes, colour changes. Choose the Chart Piece already set up -  Chart - Setup - Snake icon, bottom right - + - Shaping Counter - Start at Row (manual = length) - Name it eg Waist Shaping - Step, bottom LHS - want to decrease 1 stitch every 2 rows ( x 8 times) so How Often = 2, How Many = 8 or until (=length in “) - Text - type in exact instruction. Knit to view. When knitting, must check off, LHS before able to advance highlighter bar. Instead of Text (to enter free text) could choose Piece to choose the text instructions in the PDF pattern. Click + - select Page - highlight/adjust area - Crop - Back. Knit to view.
Edit	Create Magic Markers	Magic Markers -  + - Magic Marker - select stitch - Magic Wand Can do other stitches in other colours. Knit to view
Edit	Create Custom Markers	Eg to add beads to certain stitches Magic Markers - + - Custom Marker - choose colour - Magic Wand. Knit to view.
Edit	Join a pattern/part of a pattern to another	Click lowest icon on RHS and choose all/part of a pattern
Edit	Add a Video from the Pattern	Click PDF, top RHS - Name the video - gets added to Project Info. X to close and return to project. Click Project Info, bottom LHS to view video either in bottom panel or as Picture in Picture which you can enlarge and move around the pattern.
Edit	Add a Video not in the Pattern	Click Project Info, RHS - Video on bottom LHS - + - add video link manually

Design - Fair Isle w Alice Starmore

 

Creating Fair Isle Patterns - Alice Starmore

Calculating Stitches and Rows

To calculate the stitches required for width, multiply the width measurement by the stitch gauge.

To calculate the rounds required for length, multiply the length measurement by the row gauge.

For example, a scarf which is to be 18 x 60” and where the gauge is 8 stitches and 8 1/32 rounds to 1”. The stitches required for width are 18 x 8 = 144. The rounds required for length are 60 x 8 ½ = 510.

Fitting Patterns into Widths

For circular designs, pattern repeats should divide an exact number of times into the total number of stitches in the round. Divide the total number of stitches by the number of stitches in the repeat, to calculate how many times a pattern repeat divides into a total number of stitches.

For example

Total stitches   = 144

Stitch repeat   = 12

Therefore,       144 ÷ 12 = 12 pattern repeats per round

The total no. stitches in this scarf is convenient since it can be used with repeats of 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 18 , 24 and 36 stitches. It makes sense to choose a pattern with one of these repeats.

However, not all total no. stitches offer this range of repeats.

For example

Stitch gauge    = 8 sts to 1”

Width              = 40 ½ “

Total stitches   = 8 x 40 ½ = 324

Stitch repeat   = 20

Therefore,       = 324 ÷ 20 = 16 pattern repeats per round with 4 sts left over

To solve this problem there are three options: (1) choose a different pattern that fits exactly into 324 stitches. Ie a pattern with repeats of 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, 18 or 36 stitches, or (2) adjust the pattern repeat to fit by moving the pattern elements closer or farther apart, such as 18 sts or 36 sts or (3) adjust the total stitch count to fit the pattern repeat. Eg 324 – 4 = 320 which fits the pattern 16 times with no stitches left over. This would reduce the width by ½ “. This should only be done when the number of stitches removed is small. The alternative would be to add 16 stitches to the total number of stitches so that 17 (340 ÷ 20 = 17) repeats could fit fully. This would add 2” to the width of the garment which may or may not be acceptable.

Sometimes a combination of (2) and (3) is best.

For example

Total stitches   = 196   (max increase or decrease set at 2 sts)

Stitch repeat   = 20     (aim to adjust as little as possible)

Therefore,       =196 ÷ 20 = 9 repeats with 16 sts left over

The solution here is to increase the total number of stitches by 2 to 198 and decrease the stitch repeat by 2 to 18 so that 11 full repeats will fit (198 ÷ 18 = 11).